Remnants of Shattered Legends
by EverlastingAutumnLeaves
Summary: A collection of RWBY oneshots, including NextGens, AUs, and shipping stuff.
1. Osiria Rose

Today was the day, Initiation. The first impression for all first year students at Beacon Academy. It was finally time to show off the strength that brought the students to the prestigious academy in the first place as well as assign the teams that they would be stuck with for the rest of their school careers. It was stressful and nerve-racking for all of them, but it would be that adrenaline that would drive them to fight the best they could against the Grimm-infested Emerald Forest.

Osiria was too nervous and excited to listen to the words of her headmasters. She stared ahead blankly into the forest that awaited her, and when she watched her classmates be shot off into it, she rested her hand preparedly on the large Katana strapped to her belt. The blood red and silvery white weapon that matched with her clothes and hair was a force to be reckoned with. Not only could it manipulate different types of dust to control the elements, but it could also convert into a high powered sniper rifle. It also had the functions of a normal sword that were as strong as its wielder, which is dangerous in itself.

Osiria Rose, wielder of that Katana, was petite girl, but strong nonetheless. Although a warrior, she wasn't afraid to express elegance and femininity in her red combat skirt with a frilly white inside, a corset of the same color with ivory embroidery of rose petals and a long, white, hooded cape with the Schnee family snowflake symbol on the back. Her face was pale, her eyes a sparkling silver, and her hair was bright vermillion with white, dip-dyed tips cut into a clean A-line style that whipped dramatically with every movement.

Quick as time itself, Osiria was propelled into the Emerald Forest, a beautiful landscape filled with nothing but uncertainty. The students were left to their own devices to land safely, and Osiria landed gracefully, using her dust manipulation of bounce her along. Once on the ground she went into a dead sprint, she couldn't waste any time on finding a partner. She didn't know anyone at Beacon, but she knew that her cousin would be a first year too. Either way, she saw it as a chance to make a life-changing friendship, and it was all up to fate.

Osiria slid to a stop in a clearing, where the sun radiated through the leaves, which would provide light and guidance so the creatures of Grimm couldn't sneak up on her. Suddenly, she heard leaves rustle and branches creak. She looked around alertedly, only to find another female huntress, who had wrapped two large flails around a tree branch and was using them to swing herself to safety. She landed with a slide, and Osiria stared blankly at her graceful, catlike agility and figure, documenting her appearance into her brain. It was this girl who would be her partner, as soon as she turned around and looked her in the eye.

The girl whirled on her heels slowly to see Osiria. The girl was muscular, top heavy, and taller than Osiria, but it might've just been the leather, heeled combat boots she was wearing with her black leggings, orange and yellow tank top and khaki military jacket that draped lower in the back. Her skin was pale as well, with long, dark, brunette hair that was the color of fudge with streaks of gold as well as intense bronze eyes. Her facial expression was calm, almost emotionless. Her hair was partially covered by a black beanie, and she looked confused by Osiria's gawking stare. She spoke with an awkward, "Hello?"

Osiria snapped out of her trance. "Oh! Hi! I guess we're partners then..." She replied.

"Yes. I'm Sienna, Sienna Xiao Long." The girl said with not much expression.

"Sienna...Sienna Xiao Long? You don't happen to be related to Yang Xiao Long, are you?" Osiria asked. Yang was her aunt.

Sienna smiled. "She's my mom."

Osiria ran over to Sienna, whose mysteriousness had disappeared in that very instant. Osiria recognized her as the cousin she had not gotten a chance to meet in all her life. "You're my cousin! You're the one my mom told me about!" Osiria said happily, bouncing with excitement.

"You must be Osiria Rose. The Schnee symbol on your cape, your hair, silver eyes, and dust themed attacks should've tipped me off." Sienna said.

"Yep, that's me! I'm Osiria, and your new partner!" Osiria shouted. "And wait, if you're the daughter of Yang Xiao Long, then you must also be the daughter of Blake Belladonna, and that means..."

"Don't say it..."

"You're a Faunus! You should have those adorable little cat ears, just like your mom. Come on, show 'em to me!" Osiria said giddily, reaching for Sienna's hat.

Sienna hissed and slapped Osiria's arm. "Okay, you've worn out your welcome. Let's focus on finding the northern temple." She started walking from the clearing, but not after retrieving her flails and dragging them along with her in the dirt.

"Yep, way ahead of you!" Osiria said before speeding ahead of Sienna. She peeked back at her partner. "I bet I'll kill more Grimm than you."

Sienna smirked. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Definitely." Osiria smirked back before stopping at the sound of another rustling in the bushes. Both girls froze and drew their weapons, ready to fight, and just as expected, a King Taijitu rose from the bushes and towered over Osiria and Sienna. Osiria had never fought anything like the giant, black serpent before her, but neither had Sienna, and they were up for the challenge.

The Taijitu slithered around Osiria and Sienna so that its thick body completely surrounded them. Osiria gripped her sword's handle tightly and sprinted towards the snake, jumping on top of its body and slicing through it as well as overpowering it with icy dust attacks, intricately freezing vital parts of it so that it couldn't move. Meanwhile, Sienna whirled her flails, one in each hand, the ends of them flaming, and whacked the Taijitu hard in the head. It took the hit, hissed, and attempted to snatch Sienna in its jaws, only for Sienna to catch its jaws in her hands, just barely, and hold its mouth open.

"Osiria! Little help here!" Sienna called her partner who climbed up the snake's body until she reached the forehead and stabbed it, killing it.

Osiria leaped down from the head of the King Taijitu. She smiled at Sienna. "Nice work."

"Thanks, you too. We should keep moving. More Grimm will find us if we stay here." Sienna said.

"You're right." Osiria said before the two kept running in the direction of the northern temple, where initiation would be complete, but not without more obstacles to come. Even so, initiation would only be the beginning of the challenges to come of a young huntress to be...

* * *

 **Aaaaand here's my crappy tribute to another great work of art. Here ya go.**

 **So I watched all of RWBY and I have to say, wow. Well done! Okay, so I was a little turned off by the animation style and mediocre voice acting at first, but the more I watched, the more I got hooked! Although Ruby, the protagonist, is just short of a Mary Sue character, the other characters are vibrant and interesting to watch, and the dynamic of Team RWBY is fantastic, as well as the plot, design, and lore of Remnant. Also, the battle scenes are well choreographed, as graceful and powerful as a dance. I don't think I've seen animation like that in a while.**

 **Okay now that I'm done with my thoughts, let's talk about what the heck has happened here.**

 **I had some cool ideas for some NextGens that were birthed during Volume Two for my three favorite ships, RubyxWeiss, YangxBlake, and JaunexPyrrha, but I wanted to wait until I finished Volume Three...well, here I am. I was reluctant to write this since the introduction of the characters would be really cliche and the rules for character creation was way too strict for me...at first. But hey, I decided to do it anyway to snap myself out of my writing funk.**

 **Okay, so our characters are:**

 **Osiria Rose, daughter of Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. I named her after the rare flower, a blood red rose with a silvery white inside. The name suits her well because of her lineage and her personality. I wanted it to be warm, optimistic, and intimate mostly, but she also has a stone cold side that comes out rarely, but is dangerous when it does. I tried really hard not to have Ruby's perfection rub off on this girl, and I hope I did a good job.**

 **Sienna Xiao Long, daughter of Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long (My two personal favorites). Sienna is naturally mellow and quiet, like her mom, Blake. I imagine a child of Blake and Yang to be the strong, silent type. A beast that descends from the shadows, but burns brightly when it does. Sienna has some trust issues, and likes to hide her Faunus heritage for similar reasons that her mother does. She's intelligent, but hotheaded and inherited her mama Yang's semblance and red eye flame manipulation. She's a shy girl, but she'll still beat the crap out of you anytime.**

 **I had some great ideas for a JaunexPyrrha NextGen (Appropriately named Autumn) but I can't really do that now because, *sniffles* you know...**

 **For the people wondering what the heck I'm doing with Skimming the Surface...the next chapter is almost finished! It's a long one, so it took a little longer to make, especially since I've been busy and even if not I've been in a funk and unable to write.**

 **Reviews are encouraged as always, and I hope you enjoyed this!**


	2. Sienna Xíao Long

"Hey, Sienna!" Sienna woke to the smiling face of Osiria, who was sitting on top of her, shaking her awake.

Sienna groaned. "What is it?" She asked before realizing the sun was up and it was time to get ready for class.

"Today is our real first day! Aren't you excited? The others are already downstairs eating breakfast, so hurry up!" Osiria got off of Sienna's bed before noticing that Sienna had worn her black beanie all night. "And take off that stupid hat! It's tacky and collects sweat like a water pitcher!" Osiria said as she snatched the beanie off of Sienna's head before she could stop her. The action revealed Sienna's light brown cat ears, one of which had part of it torn off.

"Hey, give it back!" Sienna said, jumping out of bed and chasing Osiria around the already messy dorm room as she dangled it tauntingly. "I still have to get ready!"

"Oh, you don't need this to get ready. You need clothes, makeup, you know, the usual stuff." Osiria said casually.

"Hat, now. Give it to me." Sienna growled as she held out her hand, expecting Osiria to place the hat in her palm. Osiria noticed that Sienna's cat ears were flattened in annoyance.

"Aw, come on. I've never talked to a Faunus before. Why hide who you are? You look so cute!" Osiria argued.

Sienna's ears lifted slowly, then flattened again. "It's not who I am, it's what I am, and it's none of your concern." She crossed her arms and turned away from her cousin.

"Excuse me? I am your teammate, not to mention your cousin. It's always my concern." Osiria said. "If it's bullies you're worried about, you shouldn't be. You're like, the strongest person I know! You can take anyone down, if you really wanted to!"

"Although we've made great strides for Faunus equality, that's not enough to get rid of the human nature of prejudice and acting on that prejudice." Sienna explained.

"How do you know?" Osiria asked.

"Because I've experienced it!" Sienna shouted. "Yang was just like you during my childhood, but Blake didn't listen. We both believed it would be best if we hid it. My first combat school, the only friend I had ever made...he convinced me to open up to him. I couldn't stop myself. He made me tell him everything, even take out the bow my mom had given me. Ever since then, he dangled it in front of me. I had to do what he said or else he'd tell everyone my secret."

Osiria tilted her head. "So, what happened?"

"He didn't care, eventually. I was revealed, even though I didn't do anything wrong. It was proof of dominance. It was fine at first, then it started. The insults, the lesser treatment. Someone even hooked one of my ears and tore part of it off. It was getting harder and harder to learn, and I had to learn my semblance and fight back at a young age. Eventually, I had to switch schools. Yang caved and got me that hat, and I was human, an equal, again."

Osiria sighed and handed Sienna her beanie. "Here. Just know, that not everyone is like that. And things are different now."

Sienna took it and put it back firmly on her head. She smiled lightly. "Thanks, just know that this is my decision."

"But if you would just try-"

"You know not of which you speak. Now if you excuse me, I have to go get ready." Sienna said as she started towards the bathroom.

"I'll wait for you." Osiria said quietly, sitting down on Sienna's bed, since it was the lower bunk.

"And, Osiria?" Sienna asked, peeking her head out of the bathroom door.

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone about this. I don't want to be trapped on the leash of my own cousin."

"Leash?"

"Trust is like a leash. The more you tell someone, the shorter the leash is, the closer you are to them. If you are unleashed, chaos happens to the beast on the leash, but the owner is unscathed."

"Oh. No, I won't do that."

"Right. That's what they all say."

* * *

 _ **The root of suffering is attachment.**_

 _ **-Buddha**_

 **Me too, Sienna. Me too.**

 **More RWBY.**

 **Ugh I feel like Osiria is too much like Ruby and Sienna is too much like Blake...gee, I hope not. I'm trying hard to keep them separate.**

 **Anyway, a little dialogue bit about Sienna's Faunus heritage. I was fascinated with the Faunus ever since The Stray, so I'm glad I got to talk about it a little while incorporating Sienna's trust issues.**

 **Welp, reviews are encouraged as always!**

 **(Ugh sorry for these being so short)**


	3. Snow Flower

It was autumn again. The forest was fiery, and the air was cold and occasionally ashen with floating frost and grey clouds. Despite the grey sky, the sun still hung over the cliff where the grave of Summer Rose was.

"Hey, mom. Me again. Wait, it was always me. Unless Qrow comes here too, and Dad, and Yang...and I just don't know it. But yeah, just in case, it's Ruby. Oh, and Weiss is here too." Ruby still visited the grave of her mother, Summer Rose, even after all these years. In the fall breeze, her long, billowing cape flowed behind her like a flag. She looked back to her wife, Weiss, who was leaning against a tree on the edge of the forest. She looked like she didn't want to be there, but deep down, she knew she had to do it for Ruby.

"Say hi, Weiss!" Ruby said with a smile.

Weiss rolled her eyes before responding. "Hi."

"She's the coolest." Ruby whispered as though gossiping with an old friend. "Well, Osiria is off to Beacon with Yang's daughter. Ah, I remember when I went to Beacon. My awkward teenage years, hehe."

"What are you talking about? You're still awkward now!" Weiss shouted from behind Ruby.

"Weiss!" Ruby called scoldingly before looking back at her mother's tombstone. "Yep, we're crazy for each other. You know, I like to think you were there for all of it. When Beacon fell, when it came back, when Weiss and I got married, when we had Osiria... Do you see me? Have you seen me grow up all these years? What do you think?" The tombstone was silent as always.

"Um, Ruby? Are you done over there?" Weiss asked impatiently.

"Sorry I didn't come see you last week. Weiss had an important meeting in Atlas...and we had to throw this big sending away party for Osiria when we got back on such short notice. Maybe I can get Osiria to come again! And Uncle Qrow too! He can tell her more stories about her grandmother...not that you're old or anything. Pfft, what a ludicrous notion, you look wonderful...er...yeah. Oh! And I bet you're wondering how Yang and Blake are doing! And Dad!"

"Ruby! Are you really giving her the blow by blow of the past week? I don't even think we've heard from Yang and Blake this week!" Weiss shouted.

Ruby ignored Weiss and kept talking. "Yang is doing so much better! I mean, she was doing better before, but...I feel like she's really gotten into the swing of things again. And I know I said that last week and the week before that but...it's just like, she never lost _it_ , you know? And Blake, she's doing okay too. Yang is helping her get through all that happened. She still feels guilty about running from Yang all those years ago. Dad is doing great as well. He really misses you, still. But he functions! And he hangs out with Uncle Qrow so he isn't lonely, as much."

Ruby looked back at Weiss, who looked even more impatient than before. She made a hand motion to Ruby implying to wrap it up.

"Okay, Weiss." Ruby whispered underneath a deep exhale. "Well, that's how we're doing. I love you, mom. I still miss you." Ruby smiled and took a deep, sniffling breath before twirling on her heels and skipping over to Weiss, her cape still bouncing behind her.

"'Bout time." Weiss muttered as Ruby walked past her. She got off of the tree and began to follow her wife through the forest back to the city.

"Yeah. Next time, don't rush me!" Ruby replied, half banteringly and half annoyed.

"I just don't see the point of talking to a grave." Weiss said.

"You don't see the point of a lot of things." Ruby added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked defensively.

"It means, you don't see the point of a lot of things, but what you're supposed to do is just, I don't know, go along and respect other people's habits?" Ruby shrugged.

"I guess you're right, Ruby." Weiss said quietly.

"Yep! I'm always right!" Ruby shouted triumphantly.

"Oh, don't start!" Weiss scolded.

* * *

Osiria had only been gone for two days, and the empty nest syndrome was already kicking in. Ruby and Weiss lived in a contemporary flat in the heart of Vale, although they spent more of Osiria's childhood in the countryside where Ruby grew up, if they weren't out doing their huntress duties. The rare periods where Weiss was home, she ignored the quiet of the childless house by busying herself with cooking, cleaning, and the like. Ruby, who was still obsessed with killing Grimm to pass the time as always, when at home, went back to the other thing she did best: annoying Weiss.

"Weiss..." Ruby groaned as she slid on her belly onto the white couch in the living room just outside the kitchen. "I'm bored."

"Nothing I can do about that." Weiss replied quickly, not even looking away from her cooking. She was a perfectionist in almost everything, housework being one of them. She tried her hardest not to look away from the chicken on the stove.

"You could entertain me." Ruby said sweetly and quietly.

"Unless you want to starve, I can't." Weiss said, like a mother scolding her child. "Play with Zwei." She gestured to the depressed-looking corgi laying by her feet.

"Weiss?" Ruby moaned once again, turning on her back on the couch.

"What is it, Ruby?" Weiss asked, clearly annoyed.

"I miss Osiria."

"I know, I do too, but you can't let it keep you from function-"

"Do you wanna hang out?" Ruby asked, peeking her head over the back of the couch.

Weiss turned from the stove to face her wife. "We're married, you don't have to ask that."

"You could, you know, forget about making dinner and go out with me. I'm thinking noodles...you know, from that one place."

"No way! I've been working on perfecting this for you for weeks! Exotic spices all the way from Mistrel combined with scientifically perfectly grown poultry from Atlas!" Weiss complained.

"Oh, poo that! Noodles would be way more fun!" Ruby argued back.

 _Don't enable her._ Weiss thought to herself. "Ruby, we can-oh." Weiss began to scold in a tone like honey before she looked back at Ruby making puppy eyes at her from the living room.

"Puh-lease?" Ruby begged, her eyes seemingly getting wider and more irresistible.

Weiss pursed her lips, trying hard not to smile. She turned off the stove and took off the apron she was wearing. "Okay, you win." She sighed.

"Yes! Alright, Weiss!" Ruby jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen to tackle-hug Weiss.

"Be careful, the stove is still hot!" Weiss pushed her wife off of herself.

"Aw, you care about me!" Ruby smiled. "I knew it!"

"Of course you knew it, you'd be an idiot if you didn't." Weiss said.

"Aaaaw! I love you too, Weiss!" Ruby squeezed Weiss tighter in a hug. Weiss couldn't help but succumb and return the favor.

After hugging for a few seconds, Weiss broke the intimate silence. "Are we going out or not?"

"Right, right, of course. Be right back, gotta look all special for my special girl!" Ruby let go and skipped out of the kitchen cheerfully.

* * *

 **They're so adorable!**

 **Okay so it took me a while to ship these two dorks but now I ship them like Fed-Ex so...yeah. ( ^ω^ )**

 **(Oh Weiss, you're so tsundere.)**

 **I kind of imagined their relationship to be like if Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy got married, but if Harry was more annoying. (Quick, someone draw Weiss shouting "My father will hear about this!") Although Weiss can be kind of mean, cold, and standoffish, she still loves Ruby and will do anything for her. Ruby is her little flower.**

 **I may do some stuff for BlakexYang but that one will probably be way more feelsy because I imagine that one to be a much darker ship despite all the punny fanart haha**

 **Reviews are encouraged!**

 **(Ugh why are these always so short?)**


	4. Shadows and Ashes

The early morning sun shined through the leaves of the trees outside and into the windows of Yang and Blake's cabin in the countryside of Vale. The cabin was small, but cozy and functional. A cottage that looked like it was straight out of the old stories. It was still, peaceful, although the cabin was shrouded in shadows from the people living inside of it.

Yang took a long, hard look at herself in the mirror. She found it dramatic to do such things, yet she still did it. She left her long, golden hair messy and untamed, her clothes, even more so. A simple olive green shirt and baggy, khaki cargo pants, and later, a khaki jacket. Her eyes glanced to the stub of her arm, but she looked away quickly, trying to pretend it wasn't there. Well, was there. Anything but that stump.

Just as Yang was about to leave, a tired Blake stumbled into the small master bathroom with serious bedhead. Yang noticed that the ribbon that hid Blake's cat ears had come undone and had found rest on her pillow in the night. Blake rubbed her eyes and looked up at her partner, who was slightly taller than her. "Good morning, Yang." She said with a yawn.

"Morning, Blake." Yang replied coldly as she walked out into the master bedroom, which was still dark with the curtains closed.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked.

"Are _you_ okay?" Yang parroted her wife's words back to her.

"Why would I not be okay? I'm not the one moping around and staring angrily into the bathroom mirror." Blake said.

"You're not wearing your bow." Yang said.

Blake gasped quietly to herself, then went back to interrogating Yang. "That doesn't matter. You're the one talking to a bunch of students at Beacon today, not me. You're not nervous, are you?"

"No, of course not." Yang said.

"Then, what is it?" Blake asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Yang replied quietly.

"Okay." Blake said skeptically. "But, if it is something, do you promise to tell me?"

"Of course." Yang said before exiting the bedroom.

* * *

"Alright, class. We have a very, very special guest here for us today. The fiery, the famed, one of my personal favorites if I picked them, Yang Xiao Long!" Doctor Oobleck quickly introduced Yang to the full classroom of budding future huntsmen and huntresses. She took over Oobleck's stage, holding herself dutifully and with honor. Blake lingered in the doorway to the classroom, watching over her partner from afar.

Yang reached into one of the many pockets of her cargo pants, listening to the scattered murmurs and whispers across the class. Most speakers that came to the school would comment on the disrespectfulness of the students, but Yang didn't, knowing that she was once the same way. She pulled out the index cards containing at least notes on the lecture she spent weeks rehearsing to Blake and occasionally Ruby and Weiss if they came over.

"Good morning, class. First years, right?" Yang asked.

The students responded by saying, "Yes." In unison.

"Mm. So, um, any questions?" Yang asked another question.

Blake face-palmed. _Talk a little first before you offer to answer questions_. _I thought we went over this?_

Lo and behold, a student raised their hand. Yang acknowledged them with a nod. "Were you a member of Team RWBY back in the day? The ones who helped fight to restore Beacon?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah."

"What was it like working with them?" The student asked another question.

"Amazing." Yang smiled, her eyes glowing with nostalgia. Blake couldn't help but grin a little too. "They're some of the greatest huntresses I could ever have the privilege to work with, and even better friends. The teams you form here are important to your growth as a hunter. No one can become great alone."

 _I have to wonder, would she have said that all those years ago?_ Blake pondered to herself.

Another student raised their hand, a Faunus boy with budding horns. "Yes?" Yang looked to him. Blake glanced over to the student as well and saw a spitting resemblance to Adam in his appearance, then looked away bashfully.

"Can you tell us what it's like being a professional huntress?" The Faunus student asked.

"What, you didn't have any idea already?" Yang asked, quietly chuckling. "It's everything one would expect. Adventure, excitement, heroics, and an okay salary. However, not without sacrifices. If being a huntress was only the good, everyone would do it. You not only have to be prepared to fight, but you have to be prepared to lose, and I don't just mean battles. Friends, partners, a clean, scar-free complexion and psyche, maybe even your own life and limb, and you have to not ask for anything in return. Not even recognition or gratitude. The best gratitude you can get is seeing the people happy and safe." Yang absent-mindedly clenched her fist and wiggled the stump of her right arm. "If you didn't already know exactly what you signed up for, then I'll tell you. It's a whole new level of adventure and excitement, but it's also a whole new world of pain and heartache too."

Yang looked down at the floor for a moment and closed her eyes, but it was not black underneath her eyelids. It was much worse. The scene from that fateful night. That fateful night when all hell broke loose. Her vision tinted red with anger as she sprinted towards a wounded Blake, bound to slaughter the man who hurt her. Instead of the taste of victory, it was a burning, yet blunt pain, and blackness. She could feel her heart pounding and her muscles tingling.

She opened her eyes and looked up at the students. She noticed the fog of silence that had clouded the classroom. Yang even noticed Blake, who could see the soft, wetness of forming tears in her eyes from across the room. However, she sucked it up and looked at the cards that she still held. "Sorry 'bout that. Any more questions?"

The classroom was still silent except for more scattered murmurs and whispers.

"Hmm. Right. Well, thank you for letting me talk today." Yang bowed respectfully to her audience and walked out of the classroom with the same honor as when she entered.

In the fires of a village between kingdoms, two huntresses were sent to clear out the Grimm that had destroyed it. Other huntsmen and huntresses found the partners a rather funny sight. A cripple and a coward, but do not be fooled. They were the some of the strongest huntresses in the business, and some say that Grimm tremble before the names of Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna almost as much as they do Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee.

It was your typical village. It was almost pitiful. Why even try to build a civilization outside the four kingdoms? Everyone knows that nomads and small towns always fall to ashes at the claws of the Grimm. Yang, the Phoenix with a missing wing, and her wife, Blake, the beast that descends from shadows, had decided to split up for this one. Yang had needed extra help since the battle for Beacon all those years ago, but Blake felt that this was too big of a task to not divide and conquer, and Yang was always ready for such a challenge.

Blake let her whip and knives fly, slicing through every Beowulf and Ursa that came her way, and she had hordes approaching her, growling, howling, and snarling, baring their teeth at this strange new offender. Luckily, Blake was able to behead several smaller Grimm at once, and there was always her semblance whenever she was in a bind and needed to fight from a new angle, although there was an underlying shame in using her semblance to run away. But, many would argue that's what she did best, running away.

Yang, on the other hand, despite being a cripple, always enjoyed more challenging endeavors. Nevermores, Death Stalkers, King Taijitus and such.

A Nevermore, a giant raven, landed in front of Yang and screeched, flapping its wings threateningly and fanning the flames of the burning village. It also swept up the flakes of ash on the ground and rooftops, creating a dismal sort of snowfall. "Hey there, about time you manned up and landed for the real fight!" Yang said sassily, even though she knew the Nevermore didn't understand. It just squawked quietly like it was confused. "Let's do this." Yang growled as she sprinted towards the creature.

The Nevermore attempted to grab her with its beak, but Yang slid underneath the giant bird, just missing its jaws. It tried to stomp out Yang with its talons as well, seeing her as small and pesky prey rather than an actual threat, but she evaded it by rolling away from each blow. Yang stood up and punched the Nevermore's stomach with her fiery gauntlet. The Nevermore screeched in agony and flew back up into the air above Yang and hovered, flapping its wings and fanning the fires even more.

"What? I'm not done yet! Get back here!" Yang shouted at the creature.

The Nevermore let out another screeching roar and flapped its wings once, sending out hundreds of dagger-like feathers towards Yang. She dodged all of them except one, which cut through the empty, lifeless sleeve where her right arm was supposed to be. It sliced through the dangling fabric and eventually stuck into the wall of a building behind her.

"Huh, for once that actually came in handy." Yang smirked to herself, looking at the torn sleeve before the Nevermore landed in front of her one final time. "Oh? Still want to dance with me, eh?" Yang asked. The Nevermore screeched in response. "Alright then. Here's what you get for messing up my jacket!" Yang shouted, her eyes blazing red and her one gauntlet flaming.

Yang ran once more to the Nevermore, her arm winded back and ready to punch, and it did. She propelled a sharp cut into the forehead of the Nevermore before jumping up and landing on its ugly head, punching it once again hard in between the eyes, killing it with blood exploding from the beast's head and onto Yang and her clothes. She jumped off of the dead Nevermore and grabbed her scroll out of the pocket of her pants.

"Hey, Blake. How are you doing?" Yang asked casually despite being in a war zone.

"Hey, Yang? Where are you? I could really use your help over here. There's quite the crowd of Beowulves." Blake replied, sounding rather panicked over the sounds of growling Grimm.

"My situation is looking GRIMM over here too!" Yang said through the scroll. "Geddit? Because we're fighting Grimm? And there's a huge Death Stalker coming towards me." She looked over the large scorpion slowly moving towards her from across the debris-littered streets.

"If I had a penny for every time you used that pun." Blake sighed.

"Oh, but don't worry! I'm combat ready!" Yang smiled.

"Too soon, Yang. Too soon." Blake said expressionlessly.

"Okay, okay. I'll be right over, hehe." Yang chuckled.

"Thanks." Blake said. She actually sounded earnest.

Yang put away her scroll and looked around, trying not to focus on the Death Stalker. She figured that if it wasn't too close, it didn't matter at this point. "Alright, now where could Blake be..." She whispered to herself before hearing a ringing howl echo through the battle zone. "Aha, there she is!" Yang said, running towards the sound...

* * *

 ** _I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living...So different now from what it seems..._**

 ** _Oh, life has killed that dream I dreamed._**

 **Whadaya know, I wrote some Blake and Yang too.**

 **Mostly Yang haha**

 **It took me a bit to figure out how Yang was going to fight Grimm without both arms, since, you know, her original fighting style was to punch people with gauntlets and break every bone in their body. Yeah. But she's a tough gal, and has learned to fight with her left arm and use kicking attacks, although her handwriting has done anything but grow since she lost her dominant hand. She's still the pun master who loves a good adventure, even if her tune has a bit of a minor harmony to her major melody now.**

 **And I mean minor harmony. Like Mozart's Lacrymosa minor. She still has issues, don't get me wrong. PTSD, not to mention being disabled. She has yet to find peace, and she's actually okay with it. Blake wants to help, but she knows she's the same way, so she's not keen on forcing Yang to start some sort of therapy. The first sketch takes place shortly after Yang and Blake got married, and the second one takes place in the present (About a week after Sienna goes to Beacon).**

 **Blake on the other hand, is still good 'ol Blake. Angsty, quiet, antisocial, moody, serious...I could go on. Blake doesn't get too moody though, at least not without Yang telling her to stop being "catty" hehe and I know Yang is portrayed as being pretty angsty in the first sketch but come on, who wouldn't be angsty after living the third volume of RWBY? (And all the other ones, seeing as this takes place way in the future.)**

 **Reviews are encouraged!**

 **(Man I'm putting way too much thought into this.)**


	5. It Takes Two

Chirp, chirp, chirp! Tweet, tweet!

Various animal noises echoed across the rainforest, making the biome itself seem alive. The wind blowing the leaves of the towering trees made it sound like the forest was breathing. Meanwhile, Ruby and Weiss looked like mere microbes walking through the vast forest, slicing through branches and bushes that got in their way, searching for the Grimm that were disturbing the area.

The jungle was mostly a blast of green, and the canopy blocked most sunlight out. However, that didn't stop the air from being warm and humid, not to mention buggy.

"Wow...A mission outside of Vale! Can you believe it, Weiss? It looks so cool here!" Ruby said giddily to her partner, looking around in awe of the thick jungle while Weiss was doing all the work removing obstacles.

"Yes, it is quite the honor to be recognized by the other kingdoms as superior huntresses." Weiss replied, hacking another branch away with her rapier. She secretly cringed at the thought of all the dirt that was getting on her shoes and clothes.

"Blake would love this place. So much room to frolic around and chase mice, you know, Blake stuff." Ruby said.

"Blake doesn't do any of that." Weiss said quietly.

"She would if she came here!" Ruby grinned.

Weiss rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile at her wife's antics. "What do you even expect to find here?"

"A giant Grimm dragon! It's gonna bust out of the ground, and you'll be really scared," Ruby shouted dramatically.

"Not really."

"But I'll fight it off and I'll do more than freeze it! And you'll be like, 'Wow, that Ruby girl is really cool.' Don't worry, Weiss, you're in good hands!" Ruby finished her exaggerated story. Weiss still wondered how after all these years Ruby was still the same awkward dork she was when they met, even if she was better at fighting than she was before.

"Thanks? I can also assure you that you'll be in even _better_ hands with _me_!" Weiss said, pumping her chest out.

"Is that a _challenge_ , Ice Queen?" Ruby asked, playfully glaring at Weiss.

"When has it ever not been? And I'm going to win, too." Weiss smirked smugly at her partner.

Grrrr... The low growls of approaching Grimm interrupted Ruby and Weiss' banter.

"Quiet! There's Grimm approaching." Weiss whispered sharply.

"What do you think it is? Beowolves? Ursi? Taijitus? Or maybe even a new Grimm native specifically to this area?" Ruby whispered the possibilities, her voice slowly getting louder.

"Maybe if you'd shut up I might be able to recognize its growl and give you an answer!" Weiss whispered in annoyance. Ruby and Weiss heard the cluster of bushes to their left rustle with an animal's presence. They turned to face it, weapons drawn, including Ruby's monstrous sniper scythe.

Out from the bushes jumped a small rodent, rabbit-like in appearance. It sniffed the air and looked at Ruby and Weiss, who eased their stances. Ruby giggled. "It reminds me of Velvet. Heh, remember? Cause Velvet-"

"I thought I heard a Grimm. You heard it too, didn't you?" Weiss asked breathlessly, still alert and bracing for a sneak attack.

"Yeah, but maybe we scared it off?"

"Don't be ridiculous! More than a life's worth of killing Grimm and fighting evil and you still don't know how this works? The Grimm aren't scared, we are. They hunt us for pleasure. They wouldn't run from us." Weiss said with seriousness.

"Right, sorry. I knew that." Ruby said. "Stupid, I'm stupid." Ruby whispered under her breath before a Gryphon Grimm burst from the bushes, snatched the rabbit in its jaws and swallowed it whole, then reared on its hind legs, flapped its wings and screeched at Ruby and Weiss.

Before Ruby could even think, Weiss stabbed her sword into the Gryphon's chest, pushing the blade through until it slowly appeared out of its back and the lights in its eyes died out. Weiss pulled her rapier out of the Gryphon and allowed it to fall to the ground limp and lifeless. Weiss looked back at Ruby who stood in partial awe and partial panic from the attack.

"Still leagues better than you." Weiss smiled.

"Just wait until that dragon comes, you'll be done for." Ruby grinned as her feelings of panic dissolved from her conscience.

* * *

The hunting was going surprisingly slow. It left Ruby and Weiss to wonder, was this an actual Grimm threat, or merely someone who let their nerves get the best of them? No matter, they kept walking, talking, battling the occasional Grimm that came along. It was almost too easy. However, they both agreed that the jungle was simply breathtaking with marvelous cliffs, rivers, and falls, all blanketed with lush vegetation. Not only that, Weiss sure got a kick out of being able to recognize almost every plant and creature in the place, unlike Ruby, whose philosophy was "If it isn't a Grimm, who cares?"

By now they were entering the inside of a space between two ridges, a canyon, if you will, where animals would often pass during their annual migrations, as Weiss put it. Ruby couldn't help but feel claustrophobic at the sight of the towering cliff walls surrounding them.

"Hmm." Weiss stopped walking and squatted low to the ground in the center of the valley.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Grimm have been known to be territorial. If there are fresh animal tracks, then we can tell which direction we should go." Weiss explained.

"How can you tell that just by looking at animal tracks?"

"If they are fresh and the tracks don't correspond with the animal's normal migration patterns, then the Grimm are chasing them out of the area. Therefore, we go the opposite direction of the tracks and we should have some sort of Grimm lurking around there." Weiss explained. "See? I told you it was important to learn this stuff!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Weiss. Do you see any abnormal tracks?"

"Actually, yes." Weiss pointed to the ground in front of where she was squatting. Ruby squatted beside her. "Wild deer, and lots of them. It's a variety native to this region known to have some of the biggest racks of antlers ever recorded. My parents had a mount of one in the living room. They're supposed to migrate in late autumn, but it's summer right now."

"I'm Weiss, and I know a lot about deer..." Ruby mocked.

"You're only making fun because you know I'm right." Weiss said before standing up. Ruby mirrored her actions. "So, we go this way." Weiss pointed in the opposite direction of the tracks, feeling satisfied with herself.

The two started walking at a casual, yet tired pace towards where Weiss speculated the Grimm were located, however, they stopped at peculiar vibrations in the Earth.

"Earthquake?" Ruby asked.

"Doubt it. This place has no history of tectonic activity." Weiss replied.

Ruby looked up towards the horizon, and there their answer was presented. The silhouettes of large creatures of all shapes and forms were coming through the valley. A stampede. "Uh, Weiss? I think I found the answer to our problem." She nudged Weiss to get her to look.

"A stampede? Of what?" Weiss asked.

"You're supposed to know these things, Weiss!" Ruby replied with urgency. Just then, the screeches, growls, and grunts of the stampeding creatures echoed through the land, and they sounded very, very, familiar.

"Grimm. Boarbatusks, Gerfauntz, Beowolves, Creeps, Griffons, Beringels...shall I go on?" Weiss said.

"There's no use in running. They'll go the same route which we came. We have to face them head on." Ruby drew her scythe.

"Now look who's using her head." Weiss whipped out her multi-action dust rapier, Myrtenaster, and smiled at her wife.

Ruby felt her face heat up as she blushed. _Dang it, Ice Queen. You're making me warmer, not colder._ "I bet I can kill more Grimm than you!" Ruby shouted.

"You're on!" Weiss said before Ruby suddenly snatched her up in her arms with ease and used her semblance, super speed, to propel them towards the stampeding Grimm. Once Ruby stopped right in the center of the valley, she set Weiss down to fight for herself. "Thanks, but now it's on!" Weiss smirked as she loaded her dust rapier with the appropriate ammunition. She set it to the blue vial setting, making the blade glow a cold cyan, and as four Beowolves ran towards her, she stabbed her sword into the ground, causing icy spikes to form and jut out rapidly all the way up the hill, taking out hundreds of Grimm in that single attack.

Ruby, who was shooting Grimm one by one with her sniper scythe, Crescent Rose, frowned as Weiss smiled smugly at her. "I have dust too! Just you wait!"

"Knowing you, you'd blow the entire left side of the canyon off!" Weiss shouted as she stabbed more Grimm as they passed and tried to snap at her.

"Oh, ha ha! Very funny!" Ruby shouted sarcastically before loading a dust cartridge into her sniper and shooting it at the highest point of the hill, where it exploded and sent large boulders from the canyon rolling down into the valley, killing even more Grimm.

A large giraffe-like Grimm headed straight for Ruby at that moment, along with many others. It looked old, probably wiser and harder to kill. It was mostly black with spiky skeletal features. As its glowing red eyes looked straight into hers, Ruby saw it as a golden opportunity to get a leg up on the competition. As soon as it got close enough, she wrapped her scythe around its neck, allowing her to swing and jump on its back, giving her a free ride down the valley where Grimm had escaped from Ruby and Weiss' dust attacks. Even though the leftovers were few, and Weiss had sealed off the valley entrance from whence they came with a wall of ice, the Grimm stampede was headed straight for the jungle village that had hired Ruby and Weiss, who's scent had attracted them and made them stampede in the first place.

"Hey, wait up!" Weiss jabbed her sword into the leg of a Gryphon and jumped up on its back. _Hey, it's kind of like playing polo!_ Weiss smiled to herself as she stabbed the skulls of every Grimm that got near her, while at the same time keeping a firm grip on the Gryphon's neck as it ran as fast as it could down the mountain, trying to shake Weiss off its back. Weiss could see the cluster of Grimm at the end of the valley, all going after the vibrant red hood that Weiss recognized as Ruby. "Oh, Ruby. Always needing me to save her butt." Weiss smiled as she jumped off the Gryphon and ran towards the crowd of Grimm.

Ruby could just see her over the creatures. "Weiss! Don't worry, I got this! See?" Ruby did have a decent handle on things, with her super speed and sniper scythe, she was able to take out several monsters at a time.

However, Weiss knew that she couldn't take on some of them alone, especially the larger, older ones. She switched from the blue ice dust vial to the red one, meaning fire. With a few graceful movements of her rapier, she set the ground aflame and burnt up two rows of smaller Grimm. Mostly Beowolves, Ursi, and Creeps who were too slow compared to the much faster Boarbatusks, Gryphons, and Beringels. Ruby was always jealous of Weiss' seemingly perfect form, but was still desperate to one-up her. Both Ruby and Weiss enjoyed the competition, for it allowed them both to grow as well as get the job done quicker.

Ruby propelled herself towards Weiss, taking out at least four Boarbatusks along the way before agilely landing on Weiss' rapier blade. Weiss pushed Ruby up by her feet, and after a few seconds in the air which allowed Ruby to load a red dust vial into her scythe, she landed with her blade in the ground, the pressure and a hard pull on the trigger setting off a violent explosion, which Weiss thankfully blocked with a carefully placed ice shield.

However, Ruby was worn out and had sacrificed most of her aura for the sake of the attack, leaving her almost too weak to defeat one last Beringel, a Grimm Gorilla almost three times her size. It pounded its chest and roared before it galumphed towards her. Ruby managed to stand, although weak, but Weiss noticed her wife's state and knew she had to intervene.

"Ruby!" Weiss called as she sprinted towards her, ready to stop the Beringel. In the nick of time, she jumped in between the Beringel and Ruby and held up her rapier to block against the gorilla's giant fists. "Leave her alone!" Weiss yelled almost out of instinct as she closed her eyes, bracing for impact.

Instead of the blunt pain she was expecting from the Grimm, Weiss felt the vibrating sensation and ringing clash of metal on metal. She knew Myrtenaster couldn't do that. Weiss opened her eyes slowly to see a familiar broadsword, connected to a much more familiar suit of armor. She looked up at the faceless helmet of the suit with an expression of fear, yet relief. The suit stabbed the Beringel in the chest, finally slaughtering it before the suit glyph disappeared, leaving Weiss to fall down in exhaustion next to Ruby.

Weiss' breathing was still heavy and wavering when Ruby scooped her up in a hug. She seemed to have regained her energy fast. Ruby shook Weiss giddily in her arms. "Weiss!" She squealed. "Your semblance! You used your avatar glyph to protect me! Aaaw, you really do love me!"

"I've used it to protect you before." Weiss said quietly.

"But it's so cool! Why do you only use it on impulse? That knight could've easily taken out that entire stampede!" Ruby shouted.

Weiss broke away from Ruby's embrace and dusted herself off. "It's...complicated."

Ruby gasped as if she had an epiphany. "I wonder if Osiria has your semblance! Lucky!"

"She probably does. All Schnees do." Weiss mumbled. She cringed at the thought of Osiria having to relive her battle traumas every time she was in a bind. No matter how many enemies she defeated, her semblance would always summon that same suit of armor. Weiss wasn't entirely sure whether to call her power a blessing or a curse, even after a lifetime of having it.

Ruby sighed in relief as she looked at the empty valley. "I think that's all of them."

"For now." Weiss said.

"Let's just head back, Weiss. Man, I was expecting maybe two or three Grimm, not a whole stampede." Ruby said breathlessly as the two began walking back through the forest.

"Well, what do you expect? We're huntresses, after all." Weiss shrugged.

"Heh, I guess that's true." Ruby smiled lightly.

"And of course I love you, you idiot!" Weiss shoved Ruby playfully as they walked.

"I knew it!" Ruby grinned and pumped her fist in triumph.

* * *

It was a beautiful day outside, as usual where Blake and Yang lived. It wasn't too hot, it wasn't too cold. The skies were blue and bright with puffy cumulus clouds. The sun shined through the large windows in Blake and Yang's country cabin and filled the house with light.

Blake lounged in one of the many couches in the living room. The living room was an open concept space, but that didn't stop Blake from finding a spot to read that evaded the light from the windows. She preferred the warm light of the lamp beside the couch rather than sunlight as she had her face buried into a book.

Her wife, Yang, was having one of her spritely days. It was better than her days of depression, but Blake did occasionally find her antics annoying. Luckily, she knew Weiss felt the same way about Ruby sometimes, so she knew she wasn't alone. She could hear her girlfriend's footsteps pound against the hardwood floor as she walked by. "There's a package here for us." Yang said, peeking over the couch to look at Blake. She had it in her arms, ready to hand it to Blake.

Blake felt giddy almost immediately at the thought of what Yang was suggesting. "Is it the script for The Bewitched Kid? Oh, finally!" Blake couldn't help but let out a hysterical giggle. "Gimme. Faunus Harmony, here I come!" Blake reached for the box and set it on her lap after moving her book to make room. "It's kind of heavy...even better!"

"Uh, Blake?" Yang asked awkwardly.

"What?" Blake answered with a question.

"That's not The Bewitched Child." Yang said before smiling again. "It's something way better! Ruby and Weiss knew we'd be bored without Sienna, so guess who we get to take care of for the next two weeks?" She asked excitedly.

Blake felt the box squirm on her lap and her excitement faded away. She opened the box only to have a perky black and white corgi, Zwei, jump out and start licking her face. Blake hissed and struggled to escape, only to fall on the floor.

Yang laughed. "Whoa, I wasn't expecting you to be that excited."

Blake rolled her eyes. "I would've much preferred the book."

"Aw, come on, Blake! This is way more fun! When we go out, we can put him in a little purse, just like Weiss does when she has him!" Yang shouted before snatching Zwei off the couch and snuggling him.

"Great." Blake mumbled sarcastically before standing up and plopping down back on the couch. Yang set Zwei on the floor before heading towards the door. "Where are you going?" She asked, already looking at her book again.

"I'm going for a motorcycle ride." Yang replied nonchalantly as she exited the house.

"Okay, have fun." Blake said, not looking back at Yang. As the door shut, Blake had the realization of what exactly Yang was doing. Her eyes widened as she quickly set down her book and sprinted out after Yang. "Yang!" She shouted as she stepped out into the driveway, where Yang was sitting on the bright yellow motorcycle trying to put on her helmet with one hand. She struggled, muttering under her breath before she looked over at Blake.

"Heya Four Ears!" Yang smiled.

"Yang, what on Remnant are you doing?" Blake asked, about ready to run over and shove her wife off the bike.

"What's it look like I'm doing? Motorcycle joy ride! This thing's been collecting enough dust to power Myrtenaster for years, so I thought now's a better time than ever to bring it out again. You should come with!" Yang explained.

"No offense, but isn't riding a motorcycle a two-arm thing?" Blake asked.

"I used to ride one handed all the time! Come on, Blake! It'll be fun!" Yang beckoned Blake to come, patting the seat behind her. A helmet was resting on the seat, waiting for her.

"I don't know, Yang..."

"We can go into town, go on a nice romantic date, and Sienna isn't here to keep us from having a _really_ good time. You know you want to, Blake. Let's go for a ride." Yang said seductively, wiggling her eyebrows.

Blake felt her face blush, and she knew she couldn't refuse. She smiled just barely and jogged over to the motorcycle. Yang twisted slightly in her seat to peck Blake on the forehead. She closed her eyes and purred before putting on her helmet and helping Yang with hers. Blake reached over on Yang's left side and held the right handle and wrapped her other arm around Yang, securing them on the bike.

"Alright. Hold on tight, we're going to Vale!" Yang shouted as she revved the motorcycle's engine before speeding off in the direction of town. As the bike jump started, Blake almost let go of Yang and flew back off the bike, but Yang took her one arm off the handlebars to catch her girlfriend. She looked back and smiled at Blake through her helmet.

Blake, meanwhile, had a fearful expression on her face before she screamed, "Yang, keep your eyes on the road!"

"Yeah, right." Yang said nonchalantly before looking back. She pressed a button to turn on the radio, that instantly played a dubstep song that sounded like it belonged in a club. Blake knew that Yang liked that sort of thing, and she even took Blake out to go clubbing for their first few dates as an official couple. The bass thumped almost as loud as Blake's heart as she buried her face into Yang's golden mane, her own black hair flowing behind her. However, she had to look as they entered the city along the harbor. The sun's light reflected off the water almost blindingly, but it was hard to devoid one's gaze from the sight.

"Wow." Blake mumbled at the view.

"Yeah, but it's much better at night." Yang replied, having to speak up over the roaring engine. She was surprised she heard Blake's mumble in the first place.

"So, where are we going?" Blake asked.

"I figured you'd want tea and fish, you know, your favorites. On me." Yang looked back and smiled.

Blake blushed again. "You don't have to do that."

"Oh, but I want to." Yang winked before turning back.

Most of the route to Vale had been straight, which was easy for Yang to drive on. However, once they reached the end of the pier, Yang and Blake had to work together to weave through the town to the restaurant in the center of town. Blake had completely forgotten about driving, too elated about spending time with Yang to even think. She also forgot about Yang's disability, and how she served as her right arm.

"Okay, Blake. We have to turn right here. Hold on tight and turn your handlebar left, got it?" Yang explained as they were coming up on the turn.

"Yeah, Yeah." Blake said quietly, not taking her eyes off the view.

"Now, Blake! Turn with me!" Yang shouted, not knowing Blake wasn't really focused.

Yang suddenly turned the handlebars to turn off the pier, jerking Blake's loosely resting hand off of it. Blake almost fell off the motorcycle if she hadn't wrapped her other hand tightly around Yang's waist and pulled herself into the seat. The slip had snapped Blake out of her trance as she fumbled to help Yang with her driving.

Yang stopped the bike with a jerk once they barely finished the turn. She parked the motorcycle next to a shop that was at least two blocks away from their destination and got off.

"Why are we stopping?" Blake asked, although she was secretly glad. Her body was still shaking from the rough landing.

"Eh, it'd be a lot safer if we walked the rest of the way." Yang shrugged.

Blake stumbled off the bike, her legs asleep. "Sorry about the turn, Yang. I wasn't paying attention." She looked away from Yang sheepishly.

"It's alright." Yang said nonchalantly.

"No, it isn't. I know how much you wanted to do this, and I ruined it." Blake argued.

"Really, it's fine. I was in it for more than that." Yang said.

"What?" Blake asked.

"I saw the way you looked at the view from the pier through the mirror. It wouldn't matter to me if we crashed if it meant I got to watch you longer." Yang explained. She smiled and took Blake's hand. "Come on, Blake. That tea isn't going to drink itself."

Blake blushed at Yang's words, but didn't have enough time to really react as Yang pulled her away from the parked bike and down the sidewalk, calmly strolling to the cafe where the two indulged in some much needed alone time.

* * *

 ** _You are my star, you are the one, you make me smile when the world's come undone..._**

 **Oh my gosh this took forever. (And writing RWBY fight scenes is actually really hard! I mean, why did they have to make the weapons so bloody complicated?)**

 **In the last sketches I showed Ruby and Weiss having an "intimate/feelsy" moment as well as a little fun. And in the Blake and Yang sketches I showed an "intimate/feelsy" moment and a scene with them fighting Grimm together. So I wanted to give Ruby and Weiss a fight scene and Blake and Yang a fun scene too.**

 **Honestly, I don't imagine their characters changing too drastically as they age. Ruby is still an awkward dork who's a child at heart, despite all she's been through. And Weiss is a confident know-it-all tsundere, even if she's been humbled a little bit. Ruby and Weiss love competing with each other. It encourages them to always learn and grow stronger as huntresses. It's also fun and gets the job done quicker and frankly with more quality. However, they're not afraid to work as a team, either.**

 **Ruby uses her semblance literally all the time, even when not fighting, but Weiss only uses it on impulse, desperate situations, or when defending the ones she cares about. Well, at least the avatar part of her semblance. She seems pretty comfortable with all the other aspects, but that one is only used on impulse. I always felt like her main glyph would always be that suit of armor, no matter how many enemies she kills. I wanted that to sort of be a nod to the unresolved and unforgettable trauma and issues she has with her family. Imagine having your worst nightmare/trauma come to life every time you were in a tricky situation. Sure, it helps her out, but it's still kind of, well, traumatizing.**

 **On to Blake and Yang, I really don't have much to say. It takes two to tango (or should I say, YANGo) and in this case, it takes two to drive a motorcycle. And you bet your birdie once they get home, they're going to cozy up in bed, Zwei and all, for some unauthorized snuggles.**

 **And if you're wondering, I'll get back to writing NextGens soon. These next chapters should introduce the rest of Osiria and Sienna's team, SMOG (Hey not everyone can have a name like RWBY), as well as some other characters. You should expect Mauve and Navy Ren (NoraxRen), Moon Wukong (SunxNeptune), as well as some OCs, making some cameos soon. :)**

 **Okay, bye!**

 **Oh, and REVIEWS ARE ENCOURAGED!**


	6. The Atlesian Archer

Mauve wandered around the Emerald Forest, unsure where even to start in the vast woods. He was lucky he didn't find any Grimm, yet, but he could hear the sounds of the weapons of his classmates echo around the land and just hit his ears. Despite knowing how dangerous Grimm were, Mauve was jealous of his classmates and longed to battle. He certainly was an adrenaline junkie, like his mother.

Mauve Ren was already a decent huntsman due to the rigorous training his parents, Nora and Lie, put him and his sister through. He certainly looked the part in his dark lilac silk tunic with a lotus symbol embroidered in pink thread on the right side of the chest that draped over a pair of navy blue pants that had a bright green belt snaking around the waist. Strapped to his belt were two large hammers that had the ability convert into pistols. Mauve had an extremely muscular form with broad shoulders and the like, however, he had a feminine and youthful face with pale skin and long orange hair that had a single pink streak in it.

Mauve was almost giddy to find Grimm, and he had realized that maybe now was his chance as he strolled out into a clearing. It was a bare field where no grass grew and it was laden with three large holes. Mauve's magenta eyes scanned the area as he smirked to himself. "Jackpot."

Meanwhile, Mauve was being watched by a silent stalker. A girl perched on a branch just near the clearing. She crept closer and closer to get a better look at Mauve and the field. How easy that her future partner and prey were waiting in one place? Even better, this mysterious boy that was walking the minefield of a clearing could be bait for the King Taijitus lurking in the holes.

This girl was Grey Peregrine, a rare Faunus taking after a falcon. Grey had donned form fitting, arctic camo spandex that covered from neck to toe, since armor would weigh her down in flight. Strapped in between her massive wings was a large bow that could shoot four arrows at a time along with a quiver filled with arrows, some regular with sharp and shiny barbed arrowheads that go in easy but come out messy, and others that used dust to freeze, burn, or explode targets.

Grey was an Atlas native, making her skin naturally pale. Her hair was black and bushy, but strung in a high ponytail to keep from getting in the way. The one thing that stood out about Grey the most was her blue-grey wings which had white and black barred undersides, built for speed. It was her biggest advantage besides her semblance, invisibility, which she used at the moment to spy on her future partner.

Mauve couldn't help but get the feeling he was being watched, but knew that it was most likely Grimm. He didn't have much time to think on the matter as a chorus of loud hissing clouded all sound, except maybe the dull noise of gunshots from across the forest.

He drew his hammers and twirled them in his hands as he watched three King Taijitus, two black ones and a single white one, rise from the holes. Their forked tongues peeked out from between their scaly lips in unison as their bodies completely slithered out of the holes and circled Mauve.

Grey gasped as she fumbled with her quiver, trying to load a dust arrow into her bow to help out Mauve, who she could no longer see as the Taijitus' bodies blocked her view of him.

Mauve smirked, for he had it handled. The first black Taijitu hissed and lunged towards him with its poison fangs drawn. However, Mauve slammed the two ends of his hammers on both sides of the giant snake's head like two cymbals, stunning it before twirling his hammers and whacking both of them on the Taijitu's forehead, converting them into pistols and shooting the Taijitu through the top of its skull, the bullets penetrating all the way through the bottom jaw.

"Glad I thought to put in the ammo beforehand." Mauve said nonchalantly as he turned away from the dead snake, whose skull was spewing blood like a really bad fountain. "Who's next to fight the Malicious Mauve Ren, eh?" Mauve yelled to the other two Taijitus with a growling undertone in his voice.

Grey soared above the Taijitu wall to see how Mauve was doing, unsure whether or not to intervene. _I think I haven't used my semblance this long since I tried to steal from my dad's special pastry jar._ Grey thought to herself before aiming her bow down at the white Taijitu. Her eyes were better than most humans, so she could aim better and faster. Before even a few seconds passed, Grey fired an arrow with an ice dust cartridge on the end of it.

Mauve shot his pistols quickly into the open mouth of the white Taijitu as it approached him, the other black one coming up behind him. His bullets weren't doing much, but he was surprised and a little confused when an arrow came down from

sky and blew up in an ice formation, temporarily disabling the white Taijitu. Mauve looked up to see a girl materializing from what seemed to be thin air, her wings pinned behind her in a diving position(A girl having wings was weird enough already). Little did Mauve know, it was Grey, wielding one of the many throwing knives she kept in her quiver.

Grey eventually smack landed on the disabled white Taijitu's head, jabbing her knife in as far as it could go before the lights in its eyes faded out. Grey lifted her knife out of the snake, spread her wings quickly and folded them before looking at Mauve, who had an expression that said, "You totally stole my thunder."

"Sorry, was that yours?" Grey asked mockingly.

"Ha! You can have it!" Mauve shouted before smiling almost psychotically. He whirled around to the third and final Taijitu, which instantly lunged at Mauve, threatening to swallow him whole. Luckily, in quick movements, Grey threw her throwing knife at the snake's throat, stunning it and distracting it from Mauve.

Blood dripped from the King Taijitu's mouth as it slithered towards its new opponent, however, as it moved away from Mauve, he climbed on the snake's back and shot it multiple times as he ran up its back before finally shooting it enough to kill it. The snake fell down and Mauve walked off the beast to Grey, putting away his hammers as he went.

Mauve touched Grey's nose with his finger. "Boop."

"Impressive, although I think you could do a lot better." Grey said, strapping her bow and knife to her back again.

"Well, I'm lucky I got a good partner. I'm Mauve Ren, an asset to Remnant if I do say so myself. Pleasure to meet you!" Mauve held out his hand to shake.

"Right." Grey took his handshake before introducing herself. "Grey Peregrine."

"You're from Atlas?" Mauve asked.

"And you're...not from Atlas." Grey replied.

"Correcto! Let's go!" Mauve shouted perkily, beckoning Grey to follow him through the woods.

Grey couldn't help but smile at her partner's demeanor as she followed him into the thick trees and away from the snake yard, both her and her partner feeling ready to take on the long year together.

* * *

 **ACK HOW SHORT**

 **Grey, you kuudere.**

 **Don't be fooled, these two actually become best buds.**

 **Meet Mauve Ren, son of Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, a huntsman dynamic duo even more famous as a couple than Yang and Blake and Ruby and Weiss. Mauve is very much like Nora actually.** **Hyperactive, optimistic, sadistic, loud, bombastic, extroverted...He rocks a high, feminine voice and fabulous bishonen look. One of the Malicious Mauve's weaknesses is that he totally has the hots for non-binary individual, Moon Wukong, as well as almost every boy who shows exceptional strength. To be frank, Mauve is the biggest flirt to ever flirt, but at this point most people just ignore him. His favorite that hings including romance books and chic flicks, hanging out and pulling pranks with Grey, karaoke with Osiria, and of course, hunting Grimm (and beating up anyone who hurts him or his friends). He sees being a huntsman as a fun game more than anything. He's a happy, party-hardy guy. Think Pinkie Pie, except a little less annoying, and with an air of Sardonyx to him.**

 **And now onto Grey Peregrine, also known as the Mauve handler. She is actually from Atlas, and underneath that military exterior she is a total sweetheart. She's an adrenaline junkie like Mauve, and the two often go flying and jumping off buildings and stuff (Grey catches Mauve to keep him from dying, but dang, what a rush!). She has a secret passion for singing and can play the piano, but never indulges in karaoke with Osiria and Mauve, mostly out of stage fright. She prefers to sit on the sidelines with Sienna who sounds like a dying cat when she sings. :P At first, Grey is like Hermione, someone who would never break the rules or threaten expulsion, but Mauve has persuaded her to open up her fun-loving side and boom, they're partners in crime.**

 **REVIEWS ARE ENCOURAGED!**


	7. Autumn Arc (Original AU)

The air was crisp and cool, the sky blue yet cloudy, and the trees in the forest outside the Arc house had donned their leaves of flame. It was autumn, the season of change and thankfulness. Pyrrha sat on the wicker rocking chair on her and Jaune's front porch, cradling a young toddler in her arms as the sun shined through the trees, their silhouettes projecting on the wood of the porch. Leaves blew in with the breeze, one of them even landing on her child's nose as she rocked her.

The child was named Autumn, named after the season they were currently experiencing, a name chosen by Pyrrha. She had pale skin and strawberry blonde hair. As the orange maple leaf rode the wind and settled on her nose, she giggled and reached at it with her tiny fingers. Pyrrha smiled and lifted it off her face with gentleness before placing it in her daughter's tiny hand. She giggled even more, and Pyrrha couldn't help but smile down at her child.

As more leaves blew in, Autumn kept trying to grab them. Pyrrha couldn't help but think of the Four Maidens story from her childhood. The story she loved and even lived in a way. It was painful to think back to her past, but she still loved the story and told it to her daughter almost every night.

She thought of the maiden Winter, and imagined the big tree in her front yard, except leafless and laden with snow. Sitting beside it in a meditative position was her, a maiden with white skin and long hair to match, wearing a periwinkle blue dress. She looked from her tranquil state towards Pyrrha, where she noticed a scar over her right eye. It reminded her of Weiss, and the peace she found in creating her own name for herself instead of conforming to the name and expectations of her family.

Next was Spring, a maiden with dark red hair who played with the Winter maiden and weaved flower crowns for her. The imagined maiden's eyes glistened silver, and Pyrrha knew she was thinking of Ruby. Always so fun and optimistic, so full of life, just like the vernal season is the time of life and hope.

Following her was Summer, another fun girl with a fiery personality. Although happy and a jokester, one should beware her storms. She wielded flames and laughed and played with Spring. She had bushy blonde hair, and when she turned while playing, it revealed she was missing an arm. Yang, a phoenix of fun, excitement, and fire. Of course she was the summer maiden in Pyrrha's daydream.

And finally, the landscape shifted to the same one she was staring off at before. Pyrrha was expecting the Fall Maiden to be one of many people, Blake, Amber, Cinder, or maybe even herself, but the young woman who walked beside the other three was unfamiliar, yet her name was on the tip of her tongue. Her strawberry blonde hair shined in the Sun and her outfit glowed gold and red. The breeze lightly tugged at the maiden's hair as she stood with poise and discipline before turning her head to look at Pyrrha. Her eyes widened as the maiden's blinked open to reveal they were a brilliant shade of green that mirrored her own. She knew then who this girl was, it was an older version of her own daughter.

Pyrrha was snapped out of her daydream as she felt a leaf brush against her cheek. It was Autumn trying to get her attention. Pyrrha looked into Autumn's green eyes with wonder and she looked back into hers with the same feeling. She really was Pyrrha's fall maiden. Every moment spent with her reminded her of how much she had to be thankful for. Her life with Jaune, her beautiful house and the fact she achieved her destiny of saving the world as a huntress, and especially the fact she was alive to fulfill that destiny and give birth to Autumn in the process. The thought made her smile even more as her eyes scintillated with tears.

She perked at the clear sound of knocking. Pyrrha whipped herself around to see Jaune leaning in the front doorway. "Hey, Pyrrha, it's time for dinner." Jaune smiled his same toothless grin that was both awkward and apologetic, yet at the same time sincere and caring. Pyrrha loved it and found it contagious. She stood up, holding Autumn tight to her chest.

"Coming, Jaune." Pyrrha said as she followed him inside their house, looking back one last time at the big tree in the yard and the leaves dancing gracefully to the ground before shutting the door behind her.

* * *

 ** _When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life._**

 ** _-Pyrrha Nikos_**

 **Just in case you guys weren't already having trouble grieving here's an AU where Pyrrha survives and marries Jaune and has a child appropriately named Autumn, whose presence reminds her each and every day how thankful she is to be alive, just like the Fall Maiden showed the lone wizard all that he had to be thankful for in the fairy tale. :)**

 **When Pyrrha died, I honestly hated it, and I know everyone else did too. She was my third favorite character, and she was just so...nice. She was not nice in a way you could hate. She was not nice in a way that was annoying or innocent or even sickening, but it was a mature kindness that most people don't have at that age. Everyone sees kindness as like something Ruby has, where if you annoy people with your extrovertedness they'll eventually submit and be your friend. Pyrrha, on the other hand, was respectful and certainly not naive or innocent. She knew the world was dangerous and that people are cruel and she doesn't deny that her job requires her to make a few enemies and maybe even hurt people. She was patient and helpful to everyone, and despite how much those people took her for granted or put her on a pedestal she never grew to be conceited or demanding of the people she cared about, and she still had hope that peace could come to Remnant.**

 **Not only that, the episodes before her last highlighted her ambitions, and she was pretty dang passionate about her ambitions and dreams and how she felt about her destiny. She had all of this thrown onto her, fame, even the weight of the entire world before she could even say anything in response and it eventually got to the point where she pushed away Jaune and her team and even allowed Emerald to get the best of her and accidentally kill Penny. It pained me to see her never really fulfill her destiny, so when this sketch came into my head I had to write it. I really feel like Pyrrha could have been more than what she was.**

 **Okay sorry for the rant. This sketch didn't really have a lot of dialogue, and it was never meant to. If this were animated, I would mostly want it to be conveyed with interesting visuals and simple yet beautiful score. In Pyrrha's daydream, I wanted to associate the maidens with other characters in the show, so I hope I portrayed and matched them up respectfully.**

 **REVIEWS ARE ENCOURAGED!**

 **(Seriously come on guys, seven chapters...)**


	8. Monochromatic (AU)

_Mirror, tell me something, Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

Sleep couldn't quite grip Weiss, not as long as she knew that Vale was burning and haunted with shadow creatures. It had only been a few weeks since her father brought her back to Atlas, and she somehow missed the city wrapped in the embrace of fear and chaos. It wasn't so much Vale, but Beacon, and her friends. Weiss had no idea what had become of her team, or anyone from Beacon for that matter. Atlas was her home, and yet it didn't feel like it. Unlike Beacon, it was cold and lonely, like it was winter all year. Weiss had tasted the outside world, the strange realm beyond safety and luxury. It was dark and frightening, yet with the help of her friends, it was warmer than Atlas would ever be, and now she longed for it like she should've longed for the family she pushed away.

It was winter in Atlas, just the beginning. Only light snowfall, but with the promise of blizzards to come. Weiss didn't mind the cold, so she sat staring at the Atlas city skyline from the balcony outside her bedroom. She felt the snowflakes slowly land on her hands, baby blue nightgown, and long white hair as she watched the lit-up kingdom. The stars were nothing but a mere myth to Weiss, for the light of Atlas never allowed them to shine in the sky above. There was just the broken moon, bold and beautiful.

The cold breeze blew Weiss' hair out of her face just barely. It levitated slightly off her back, which rose and fell with every sighing breath that could be seen as a short steam against the still air.

As Weiss watched the traffic go by and the snow fall, a peculiar sight caught her eye. Projected through the city lights onto the back wall of her bedroom, a figure was jumping onto the roof of the building across from Weiss from the left, shrouded mostly in shadows. It stopped, lean and feminine in appearance, with long hair and a jacket that was short in the front but long in the back blowing behind her as well as a bow perched on her head. The shadow's eyes glinted bronze as a car's headlights flashed by, and it revealed a quick glance at her black hair, pale skin, and white coat, but she quickly turned her head, realizing that Weiss was staring at her. "Blake?" Weiss asked, not expecting an answer. The figure started running, jumping across the rooftops. "Blake." A smile tugged at Weiss' mouth as she whirled on her heels, ran into her bedroom and snatched Myrtenaster from her closet.

It was the first time in weeks since Weiss used any of her huntress skills. She sprinted and jumped off the balcony, caught by her glyphs, which acted as stepping stones to the line of buildings the figure was running across. Once Weiss landed safely, she ran after the shadow with the help of her glyphs. The closer she got to it, the more certain she was that it was Blake.

"Blake! Blake!" Weiss shouted, already running out of breath. "It's me, Weiss!" Finally, not only a relic of Beacon to strip her homesickness away, but maybe some answers on the rest of her team.

Blake already knew who her pursuer was, which made her more motivated to get as far away from her as possible. She felt her weapon, Gambol Shroud, a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe, bump against her thigh as she ran and she knew that she could fight Weiss any second...however, she preferred not to have any confrontation at all.

Weiss was gaining on her, just one reach and she could grab Blake's coattail. Blake knew this and sprinted faster as Weiss continued calling her. Each shout of her name was agonizing, like a knife to her heart. Why was she running from her? A friend? A teammate? Maybe she had intel on the others? And yet, another part of Blake didn't want to see Weiss at all. The chase across the snowy rooftops was one of the only times Blake's White Fang work payed off, for the buildings were just like train cars.

"Blake! Slow down! Why are you running from me?" Weiss called pleadingly, soon attempting to snatch Blake's coattail only to faze through a lifeless copy of the person she was pursuing. Blake's semblance, the ability to create shadow replicas of herself to take the hit while she runs. "You really are good at running away." Weiss growled under her breath just loud enough for Blake to hear.

Blake slowed her pace slightly, her eyes looking back at Weiss, who she wasn't sure if she was more angry or just hurt.

"Aha!" Weiss, in a single swipe, grabbed the back of Blake's black bow and pulled. It unraveled, the other end of the ribbon just licking Blake's cat ears before she stopped, still not turning to face Weiss, who was looking pleased with herself.

Blake sighed and closed her eyes before whirling on her heels, her shoes scraping against the roofing of the house they were standing on. "Weiss."

"Blake!" Weiss pulled Blake into a hug. "I'm so happy to see you! Are you okay? You just ran away without telling any of us where you were going! How dare you make us worry like that!"

"You said it yourself, it's what I'm good at." Blake shrugged.

Weiss pulled away from Blake. "You know I didn't mean that. I just needed to see you, talk to you...it's been hard, adjusting back to Atlas."

"I don't know how that could be difficult. Must be easy, having servants do your every command." Blake muttered.

It took every ounce of self control to keep Weiss from pouncing on that last comment, but she kept it in. "Maybe we should get down." Weiss said, looking down at the street below them before glancing at Blake, who nodded before they leaped off the roof and somersaulted into the street before darting across and finding a bench to sit on. Weiss dusted the snow off the seat and the two girls sat down, cramped on the small bench. A street light hung and shined over them, making the snowflakes falling over the bench more visible and giving the space a warmer atmosphere than the dark night. "What have you been doing all this time?" Weiss asked. She had so many questions, it took a bit to keep them from spilling out of her mouth like a waterfall.

"Running." Blake replied coldly, looking at the street blankly.

"From what?" Weiss asked.

"Everything." Blake's voice faltered. "Adam and the White Fang, Cinder and her group, Yang and Ruby, you...what happened at Beacon."

"It's been difficult for me as well. I was hoping you would know how the others are doing." Weiss replied.

"I don't have a clue. I was hoping you would know something." Blake said.

"I don't. I'm sorry, Blake." Weiss said, looking down at her lap, where her hands rested, clutching Blake's black ribbon. She smiled, her eyes moving to Blake's cat ears, slicked back from sorrow and the cold. "It's weird, seeing those for the first time." Weiss said.

Blake perked up slightly, turning her head to face Weiss. "Don't expect to see them often."

"Ruby was right, they are kind of cute." Weiss said before handing Blake her ribbon. "Here. The Atlesian government hasn't been the nicest to the Faunus since the White Fang attacked Vale and their forces."

"I won't be staying here long." Blake added.

"But, someday, right? You'll get rid of that crazy thing?" Weiss asked.

Blake shrugged. "You may not care, but the world does. It always will. I always will. Although it is my choice, I can't help but see it as a chain wrapped around me. It wasn't my choice to be born this way, but it was my choice to side with the White Fang and aid them in their quest to associate Faunus with fear."

"I see."

"I'm sure you feel the same way about your last name." Blake said.

Weiss' eyes widened. How could she read her so easily? Did she know she felt that way all along, even when she said the remark earlier? Or was it an epiphany that happened right then? "Yeah, actually. I'm sure you know better than anyone how difficult it is to shake off the sins of your kin. What was it like? Being in the White Fang?"

"It was...um...indescribable. As a member, the hopes and dreams of every Faunus, equality, respect, safety, opportunity, they had all become my burden, my prison, and I was willing to bear it, because their hopes are mine too. It was fine at first, peaceful protests, although they didn't get us very far. Once the White Fang converted to more violent practices, I started to get weary, despite Adam constantly reassuring me. It was then that I had to find my own liberation. I betrayed the White Fang, leaving Adam and the friends I grew up with, as well as finding it more of a priority to hide my identity. I had to, if I was ever going to get anywhere as a huntress."

"But Ozpin-"

"The White Fang was my family, Weiss, and just like your father won't leave you alone, neither will they. Despite the illusion of being free, I'm still a prisoner of my choices, my hopes, my identity." Blake explained, staring at her lap.

"Is that why you're running? Is that what you're trying to get away from?" Weiss asked.

"It's impossible to run from yourself, but it doesn't hurt to try." Blake said.

"Don't I know it." Weiss said with a chuckle and a sigh. The snow had worsened then, and the wind was stronger. Despite her love for the cold, Weiss shivered in her silk nightgown with sleeves and a neckline lined with lace.

"Cold?" Blake asked.

"No, I'm fine. Just perfect." Weiss replied curtly.

Blake leaned forward on the bench, took off her jacket and wrapped it around Weiss before scooping the petite girl close to her with one arm. She wasn't cold, despite only wearing a black cropped top and jeans under her jacket.

Weiss felt her face heat up, nestling herself under of Blake's arm and putting her legs on the bench. "Blake...you know, I never thought I'd say this, but, we have a lot in common." Blake looked down at her, awaiting a reason. "It's just, we're both trying to forget the past and who we are, but in our own different ways. Now that I think about it, we're both victims of the White Fang, in our own right."

"I guess so." A smile pulled at Blake's mouth. Weiss smiled too. It was the first time either of them had done that in a really long time. It was refreshing.

"You know what?" Weiss stood up confidently, holding Blake's jacket on to her back with on hand.

 _She's back._ Blake thought, remembering how Weiss used to act back at Beacon and how it was so different here. "What?" Blake asked just to humor Weiss. She knew she was going to make a declaration regardless if she responded.

"I'm glad we had this talk. I'm glad I saw you tonight." Weiss said, whirling on her heels to face Blake. Her posture went from confident to its previous tender state. "It was nice."

"Yes, it was." Blake replied, standing up in front of Weiss, their bodies and faces so close they could hear each other's breathing.

Weiss took off Blake's jacket and handed it to her. "I can't stand to leave you out here in the cold with nowhere to stay."

"It's fine." Blake said calmly but her weak efforts did nothing as Weiss grabbed Blake's wrist and pulled her along the sidewalk until they were below the Schnee building, the balcony to Weiss' room at the top. Weiss summoned a glyph under them, propelling them up to the bottom of the balcony, where Weiss climbed the railing and pulled Blake up with her.

"I can sleep on the floor, and you can have my bed. No problem. It's a suite fit for a teammate." Weiss said on the balcony with her hands on her hips, looking satisfied with herself.

"I can't stay here." Blake mumbled, standing behind Weiss near the railing.

Weiss turned to Blake. "Why not? It's perfect!"

"I told you, I'm not staying here long. There's a boat leaving for Vacuo tomorrow morning, and I have to catch it." Blake sighed.

"Why? What is your hurry? You're going to abandon me to be a stowaway, like Sun?" Weiss argued, but quietly. She didn't want to wake her family up.

"Look, it was nice talking to you, and your hospitality is generous, but I have to keep going." Blake said, walking towards Weiss. Before she could respond, Blake shut her up with a kiss on the lips. By then, Weiss was too stunned to say anything, trying to hide her red cheeks from Blake, who smiled before frowning again and trotting to the railing. She jumped onto the barrier and stood tall, the moonlight projecting her silhouette onto the floor and covering Weiss with shadow. Blake looked down at Weiss one last time before closing her eyes as though leaving was painful and turning her head, her hair and coat flapping behind her. "Goodbye, Weiss."

And with that, she leaped off the balcony and was gone, kicking up a small wind of snow and stirring up mixed feelings in Weiss in her wake.

* * *

 ** _You may be black,_**

 ** _And you may be white,_**

 ** _But I don't see grey when I'm with you._**

 ** _In a monochromatic world, I see colors._**

 ** _You may be hurt,_**

 ** _And you may be scared,_**

 ** _But trust me, I'm not like the others._**

 ** _\- Outline for a Blake and Weiss duet before I realized they don't sing in this show and it would just be weird to have them sing in this._**

 **Yes I'm ship-hopping but hear me out:**

 **The idea for a Weiss and Blake ship actually crossed my mind when I watched RWBY for the first time. By the time I reached the end of** ** _Black and White,_** **the Volume One Season Finale, I thought, wouldn't it be interesting if Weiss and Blake got together?**

 **I know at least some of you would testify against that with the clear loose ends and unsettled business between Weiss and Blake seen prominently in** ** _The Stray_** **, and I would imagine that after seeing what the White Fang has done to not only her family, but also her friends and her school that she has come to love so much, that Weiss would still be questioning the trustworthiness of the Faunus as a whole, especially a Faunus like Blake, who actually worked with the White Fang.**

 **But if you push all that aside, Weiss and Blake actually have a lot in common. They're both intelligent, (mostly) studious individuals who wish to become a huntress to make up for the sins of themselves, their pasts and families, and the world. Weiss knows that her family has some dark things to them, they've also mistreated her mostly by confining her to their expectations and not the ideals of herself, punishing her if she strayed from their path, and she knew it wasn't right, so she opts to start her life broken away from that and to pursue her dreams as her own person, even if that meant disconnecting from the last name that was basically her entire identity.**

 **Blake, on the other hand, has actually done horrible things and has seen the people and organization she grew up with go from respectable peacemakers to a full on terrorist group that doesn't improve Faunus/Human relations but rather destroys them through crime and ruthless fear tactics. Blake also knew that her "family" wasn't doing the right thing so she started anew as well, even if that meant hiding who she was, *ahem* sorry,** ** _what_** **she is, to pursue her dreams and herself without controversy or hitches.**

 **Sure, they have little things different about them. For example, Weiss has lived a fairly sheltered life aside from tight expectations, the influence of the White Fang, and possibly an abusive father, but Blake on the other hand has grown up in a "kill or be killed" world and has grown to be a cynic rather than a still slightly hopeful and wonder filled Weiss.**

 **However, the one difference people always circle back to is race. It's such a huge part of Blake's character even though I'm not sure if it's meant to be. It's not so much her being a Faunus but what she did for the Faunus and the guilt that seems to chase her through life unrelentingly that makes up such a big part of her.**

 **The White Fang made Weiss' childhood difficult, as stated in** ** _The Stray_** **, which leaves Weiss prejudiced against all Faunus, automatically seeing them as no good White Fang members. This leaves for a dispute between Weiss and Blake, Weiss' vision being clouded with the wrong ideals, and Blake being the seeming martyr by retaliating against Weiss' claims, trying to promote tolerance and sensitivity in her teammate, which is understandable. Weiss just thought that Blake was naive to the White Fang's deeds and wanted Blake to agree with her, still seeing her as human.**

 **Honestly, listening to Weiss and Blake go back and forth in** ** _The Stray_** **is a perfect example of arguments I've had when lecturing people on political correctness (Yes, I used to be one of** ** _those_** **people.) and I thought it was stupid. So, so, stupid. I didn't really see any point to the argument besides maybe changing the other interlocutor's mind. I was extremely satisfied in** ** _Black and White_** **when Weiss made up with Blake, just because it was a satisfying conclusion to the argument in** ** _The Stray_** **.**

 **Never before have I been happy with the answer "I don't care." In a situation like that. Because normally, I would be like, "You should care! People are getting mistreated out there!" But I feel like it was not that kind of carelessness in Weiss' response. It was more so a, "I don't care what race you are, or your previous affiliations, you're still my friend and I care about your wellbeing enough to admit that I was wrong." And I know that's a lot to say with one gesture, but they somehow did it in that last scene in** ** _Black and White._** **And Blake was honestly repentant of running away when Weiss seemed to be out of patience with her.**

 **It was in that moment where I thought, "What if?" Weiss actually cares enough about Blake to be friends with the enemy, and Blake cares enough about Weiss to care somewhat about her feelings? That could just be a friend thing, because I care about my friends in that way but I don't necessarily want to date them, but what if?**

 **Wouldn't it be interesting, a former White Fang member and a Schnee falling madly in love with each other? Or at least getting along to some extent? Not only would it get an interesting public and familial response on Weiss' side, but it would also lead to some conversations that** ** _need to happen._**

 **I feel like if Blake and Weiss just sat down and talked about their childhoods, just have this talk therapy session of back and forth, they would soon realize how freaking similar they are. Not only that, I want to see Weiss and Blake work together against the White Fang and explain that justice is not the secret to peace. If the White Fang weren't so bent on justice for their race, the Faunus could achieve equality another way. And I know that peaceful protest wasn't working before, but it's certainly better than violence. The White Fang think that the secret to respect and being treated right is murder and robbery, when it only feeds to already festering prejudice that exists in the older generation as well as forming prejudice in the newer one. Of course the Faunus are seen and treated differently than humans. Humans hate people who are different than them, I get it, it's kind of our thing, but the White Fang, a Faunus organization, are freaking murdering people and yeah humans do that too but they do it just for the sake of "being a Faunus and serving their race". Seriously, why has this not been said yet? Blake and Weiss' relationship could be the start of promoting humans and Faunus working together for a greater good!**

 **I seriously hope that Weiss and Blake at least become good friends or just have a few intimate moments discussing racial tension and their pasts because it would certainly be something. I don't care if Blake goes with freaking Sun (The rather cliche choice, if you ask me) just as long as Weiss and Blake get some deep screen time together to prove that although you may be black and white, your vision is not monochrome.**

 **Okay I'm done rambling.**

 **And I may have written this sketch differently than my other shipping stuff. I was inspired by the original trailers, their mystique, seriousness, and elegance that honestly would've gotten me more hooked on the show at first glance than the first episode. Blake is just a mysterious character, and even though we know a lot about her, nothing can undermine her mystique and the "there one minute, gone the next"ness of her character seen in the her trailer. Weiss, on the other hand, has a much more fairytalish type thing going on that deserves to be portrayed artistically with a sort of tragic beauty, and especially in the beginning moments (the opening through the chase) I wanted to combine Weiss' princess-esque aura with Blake's mystique. Not sure if I pulled that off, but that was my plan.**

 **Wow this is a long author's note.**

 **So, what are your opinions/speculations on Monochrome and the future of Blake and Weiss' characters? Let me know in the reviews!**


	9. Bitter Dreams

"The train will pass right through this mountain pass at 3:00AM, sharp. Be there, and be ready. We jump on, steal the dust we need, and execute anyone who gets in our way. Understand? I won't repeat myself." An intrusive memory floated up into Blake's consciousness. Another raid on a Schnee Dust Company train, this time running through a mountain pass outside of Mistrel. Adam Taurus, the White Fang's leader, and Blake's partner, was giving orders to a small party of other White Fang members. After the last few sieges on said trains, the company was upping their defenses, so it was advised to bring multiple men.

Blake knew how this story ended, and she wanted to get it out of her head as soon as possible, lest losing much-needed sleep, but she couldn't terminate it. The memory continued. The other men nodded understandingly, mostly out of fear of Adam's wrath, before departing to their own tents. Adam stopped one of the men, a Faunus whose heritage was a pair of antlers, by grabbing his shoulder. "Come with me." He grunted before pulling him in the direction of the tent Adam and Blake shared, and Blake followed reluctantly behind. The tent was the largest, and the nicest, out of all of them and was best suited for protecting them against the Mistrel winter, especially cold, starless and snowy nights like these. The fires were dimmed, and so were the torches. The only place that stayed lit was that one tent, Adam and Blake's.

Blake lingered outside the entrance as Adam shoved the deer Faunus into the tent and dramatically whipped the drapes closed behind them. She watched their shadows and listened to their conversation.

"Catawba, Catawba, Catawba," Adam said in a scolding, sing-song way. It was condescending and careless. Blake knew this tone well.

"You requested to speak with me, sir?" The deer Faunus asked. His name was Catawba, after a type of grape.

"I don't mean to interrupt your rest, but I wish to ask you about this series of letters I happened to find stashed away in your tent." Blake's ears twitched at the sounds of crumpling paper. Adam was digging four worn pieces of parchment from his pocket. He held them in front of Catawba so that the firelight made the parchment glow.

Catawba's posture shrunk shamefully. He looked away from Adam. "Sir, I can explain." He said gently before Adam snapped at him.

"No need! These are all the proof I could ever want." Adam scanned over one of the letters quickly. "'Dear Amaranth, I apologize for having to postpone our wedding, but once we stop in Mistrel after this raid, I will renounce my membership with the White Fang and dedicate all my time to you, my love. You are the Sun that lights and warms my world. When we are together, I feel my heart leap for joy. I can't wait to return to you, and live our days eternally blessed and as one.'" Adam read an excerpt from the letter before ripping it apart and tossing the remains haphazardly on the ground. He pulled a match from his pocket, struck it, then dropped it on the piles of torn parchment. The parchment quickly incinerated before Adam stomped out the flames. "You took an oath, Catawba. Not just to me, but to all the Faunus of the world. And for what, for you to throw it all away for some woman? I'm disappointed in you, even more so offended."

"I know, I'm sorry, sir, but I must go. I just can't go on doing this anymore. I'm beginning to think that killing humans is not the way to achieve what we desire..." Catawba kept his head down.

"What _we_ desire? What we desire is apparently _very_ different. Maybe you should have considered that when you decided to fight for a cause you truly don't believe in. Do you not care about the things these filthy humans have done to us? To you? Don't you want to get revenge?" Adam raised his voice, and Catawba shrunk even further.

"I guess, but-"

"The fact that you even thought of betraying me should get you slaughtered," Adam growled. Blake could see Adam's shadow moving towards Catawba's. Their shadows merged as Adam quickly clutched Catawba's neck and held it tight as he lifted up Catawba's body. Catawba choked and growled under Adam's grip, his body struggling to wriggle out. "But instead, I'll keep you here, and your punishment will make you wish I had the mercy to kill you." Adam threw Catawba in the direction of the tent entrance. He coughed and wheezed, refusing to make eye contact with his superior before scrambling out of the tent as quickly as possible.

Blake ducked out of the way as he passed, and waited a few seconds before entering. She felt anxiety and dread twist her stomach into knots, but she knew she had to face Adam eventually. Blake quietly and gently pulled one of the entrance drapes away and peeked in. Adam was pacing the tent like a caged animal, muttering to himself angrily. Blake continued to creep into the tent, but she didn't say anything. She simply went to a corner to change for bed.

Adam caught her before she made it. "Blake." He said.

Blake's shoulders tensed as she stopped. "Adam." She regarded him monotonously.

"After this raid, you and I are going to step away for a while. We're going to Atlas, to voice our complaint once again about the Schnee Dust Company's labor forces. I have an excellent list of people in mind. We'll have to kill Catawba for good measure, so he doesn't escape while we're gone. Do you have any idea who this Amaranth is?" Adam asked.

"I think, she's a human from Vacuo. I remember seeing him sneak away from the camp, so I followed and saw them meet up outside the city." Blake said quietly.

"A human? I should've killed him on the spot, a traitor and a sinner." Adam snarled to himself. His back was still to Blake, but she could only imagine his expression under his mask.

"He's only one member out of thousands. You could very easily let him go, but not unscathed." Blake mumbled.

"What was that?" Adam snapped. He couldn't believe his ears.

"I'm just saying, you may get more respect from the others if you treat Catawba with respect and let him go," Blake said. She couldn't believe how quickly she was standing up to Adam. It was too soon. She couldn't let her emotions blow her just because of an expendable member.

Adam whirled around to face Blake. "Are you saying I don't get enough respect out of my men? Even worse, are you saying _you_ don't respect me, Blake?"

Regret and pure terror hit Blake like a sucker punch. "No, not at all. It was just a suggestion."

"Don't tell me how to handle _my_ troops, you understand? And don't try to justify these kinds of offenses. The fact that you're being so careless scares me." Adam shoved Blake out of his way as he strode out of the tent. Before closing the drapes, he gave one last remark to Blake. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going? Everyone's asleep." Blake asked.

"Delivering punishment where it's due," Adam growled as he shut the drapes and walked away, his footsteps in the snow crunching as they receded. It was silent for only a few seconds before agonized screams pierced the quiet like Adam's sword pierced Blake's stomach on the night of Beacon's Fall. It still haunted her. Every slap, punch, shove, that Blake endured under Adam's control. She was still running from Adam, as an escapee of the punishment that he felt she deserved. She knew Yang, wherever she was, already was falsely punished for Blake's crimes. The thought kept her up at night, especially on nights like these. Nights on the path to impending doom. These sleeps were full of dread for the confrontation to come. She wasn't sure if the others felt it too, but she was certain that it hit her the hardest.

Blake's eyes opened, her night vision allowing her to look around the dark of the ship, bound for Menagerie. Her eyes first moved to Sun, who snored loudly next to her in the cot to her right, then around the rest of their quarters. Blake sat up and crawled out of her cot to the entrance of her room. She opened the door as quietly as she could, the rusted hinges creaking. She heard Sun snort suddenly. Her shoulders tensed, fearing she had woken him up, but quickly became relieved as she looked behind to see Sun yawn in his sleep and roll over in his cot to deeper slumber. Blake sighed quietly to herself and walked back to her cot to sit on it, indulging in these rare moments of silence to calm down and fall back to sleep, even if it proved difficult.

* * *

Once upon a midnight dreary, a one winged Phoenix, almost burned out, lied awake in her bed. The full moon, slightly broken, shined in the window beside her and projected the branches onto the comforter that blanketed her legs. The shadows were like the claws and fangs of beasts, but she did not fear shadows, nor the creatures that descended from them.

She couldn't go to sleep, her eyes refused to close, and she looked wistfully out the window into the darkness lit by the moon, the same moonlight flooded the isolated bedroom. She was alone to her thoughts, depressing as they were. She sat up in bed, took a drink of water from the glass on her nightstand and laid back down to attempt to doze. She rolled over on her right side and closed her eyes, but quickly rolled to the left, away from the window, due to discomfort in the stump of what was once her dominant arm. Her eyes shut once more, and they actually stayed shut.

Silence and blackness wrapped her in a comforting embrace as sleep paralyzed her limbs. However, her brain was still active, giving her vivid dreams. Dreams so real, she believed she was awake.

She thought she was awake again, still night, still in bed. She sat up again and ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair as she yawned. She blinked awake, exhausted but still not able to doze off. Her eyes moved to the glass on her nightstand, next to a vase of sunflowers. It was empty. She groaned quietly to herself, tore off the covers with her left arm and picked up the glass with the same hand. As she stood up, an abnormal noise touched her ears enough to grab her attention. It was a tapping, like tapping on glass in a rhythm she felt like she recognized, but couldn't put her finger on it. She approached her closed bedroom door with uncertainty, assuming it was someone knocking on the door. She leaned against the door.

"Dad?" She asked. No answer. "Qrow?" She asked again, despite knowing he was gone. She decided to inquire for one more person, another person she knew was gone. A fragment of her hoped she had returned for her. "Ruby?" She asked even quieter than the last two questions.

More tapping ensued. She opened the door to find that no one was there, and there was no one in the hallways. More tapping, but louder. She whirled around to see that it was a bird, a raven, at her window, its beak and tiny talons clicking against the glass as though desiring entry into her bedroom. She went to the window and stupidly opened it. The raven flew in with a flutter of feathers. It swooped over her and perched on the nightstand. She turned her head slightly in confusion.

The raven tapped the nightstand with its foot and squawked. "Nevermore."

"Huh?" She asked.

"Yang Xiao Long." It squawked again, its words staccato and its tone rigid. "Nevermore."

"What does that mean?" Yang asked.

"Nevermore will you hunt the creatures of Grimm again." The raven said. "Nevermore will you see your sister again. Nevermore will you be nothing more than dead weight. Nevermore will you ever find your mother or your partner. Nevermore will you find the answers you seek. Nevermore will the happiness you so loved return."

Yang looked away from the bird. She acknowledged that it was her psyche speaking to her, yet that knowledge was quickly shut away by impulse of the moment. It all felt real, not a dream, that she was receiving a mental beating from a bird whose brain wasn't even capable of cognizant speech. Yang wasn't sure whether or not to be depressed or angry at the words uttered by the raven. These were blows that she had given herself since the fall of Beacon, but they were still blows nonetheless, and all blows were favors that simply had to be returned. Her eyes flashed red as she turned back to glare at the raven. She wasn't sure if birds could even make facial expressions, but this raven's beak was definitely frozen in a smirk.

There were no words, just actions as Yang dove in with her left arm to grab and throttle the raven by its neck. It flapped its wings with panic and pecked Yang's hand. She yelped in pain and let go of the raven before she clenched her fist and grew angrier. The raven swooped above her, its back just feeling the ceiling of the bedroom. It quickly dove back down as it held its talons out, ready to strike, but Yang quickly punched it out of the air in an explosion of black feathers. The raven was compromised, lying helplessly on the floor with a broken wing and leg from the punch. Yang loomed over it threateningly, and silently.

But the raven simply regenerated. It jumped up and flew to the windowsill, where it sat and looked back at Yang. "Nevermore will you prove me wrong." The raven cawed before flying off into the night, leaving Yang to wake up discombobulated, and unable to fall asleep again.

* * *

 **Some RWBY stuff I did on my spare time. The Blake sketch was done as an early morning warm-up, and the Yang sketch was an idea I had just before bed, and I had to write it down. The Yang sketch was inspired by one of my favorite poems, The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe. I was rewatching End of the Beginning shortly before Volume Four premiered (and I loved the first and second episode and the intro btw), and in the last scene with Yang (during Salem's monologue) she looked out the window to see a raven (or a crow) and since this was around the time Poe's The Raven is typically read, of course, that little animation made me think of it.**

 **As for Blake's sketch, it was a warmup I did before working on some bigger projects. It was originally going to be one part of an entire chapter. After the flashback with Blake, there was going to be a flashback with Weiss and her father during Weiss' childhood to show some parallels, but I never got to it. Maybe someday.**

 **Oh yeah, have a spoopy Halloween! I wrote a short story specifically for the occasion, based off of Japanese mythology. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. If ya'll are interested I could post it to my FictionPress or something if you want. Also, I am working hard on making some awesome new chapters in my other RWBY work, New Visitors! Check it out!**

 **REVIEWS ARE ENCOURAGED!**


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